Republican Morris County Clerk Joan Bramhall describes her
office as thriving with new technology and says her focus is on
making information available more easily to the public.

Her Democratic opponent, Mendham Township attorney Diane Weeks,
however, says Bramhall should be focused on making sure voting
machines work properly, and that voting irregularities, if not
stopped entirely, are quickly identified and acted upon.

Bramhall says that rightfully is the concern of the
superintendent and board of elections, not the county clerk.

The two met for an hour interview in this the Chester office of
Recorder Community Newspapers on Thursday.

Bramhall, a Denville resident, has lived in Morris County her
entire life, and has been township clerk for nine years. She is
seeking a third, five-year term.

Weeks, 55, who has run unsuccessfully for the Mendham Township
Committee, maintains a private law practice in the Brookside
section of Mendham Township.

Previously, Bramhall, 71, of Denville, was a county freeholder
for five years and the GOP's county chairwoman as well as an aide
to late Rep. Dean Gallo.

Under state law, a county clerk is the filing officer for
nomination petitions for county offices, and petitions for
independent municipal candidates.

A county clerk is charged with printing ballots, reviewing
absentee ballot applications, and maintaining all property
documents, law certificates, deed information and the like. In
addition, the clerk's office swears in public notaries and
processes all passport applications.

Bramhall said she has been instrumental, using a fund she
maintains by collecting $2 for every document requested by the
public, in bringing the clerk's Morristown office into the 21st
Century.

"The office was cramped and tired before me. But, it's the
highest revenue producing office in Morris County," she said,
adding that since 1999, more than $382 million has been
generated.

Bramhall said she implemented a "state of the art" records
management system, and said all of the money comes from the "trust
fund" she accumulates at $2 a time for transactions with the
public.

Weeks, however, in a conversation that was frequently
confrontational, immediately questioned the "trust fund" and said
she would, as clerk, open that fund up to the public.

"It's public money. The public should be able to see where it is
spent," she said.

Bramhall responded that the public can access that information
but Weeks said the process has not been transparent.

Bramhall said the "trust fund" has about $400,000 in it right
now, and she said funds have been expended to bring the clerk's
office light years ahead of where it was in terms of technological
advances.

Bramhall said that Morris County has shown an increase in voter
registration this year of 300,000, and she said that number
continues to grow.

Weeks said, however, that as a constitutional officer, Bramhall
should do all she can to ensure "full and fair voter
participation."

"If I were clerk, I would be out at non-partisan events to
register new voters. I have been out myself with absentee ballot in
hand to register new voters," Weeks said.

Weeks then launched a lengthy accusation in which she said that
this past presidential primary election was rife with problems,
irregularities and possible wrongdoing.

"She (Bramhall) was not at the Board of Elections office or at
the Superintendent of Elections Office to see what problems were
occurring with the voting machines. She has to certify the ballots
and the election. How do you know it's right if you did not do
that?" Weeks asked.

Weeks said she was made aware during the primary election that
some voting machines used in Morris County were not processing
votes countywide.

In response, Bramhall said there were no problems with the
voting machines, and she described the Sequoia models the county
uses as "fast, accountable and reliable."

"There were some technical problems that had nothing at all to
do with the accuracy. Some of the machines were slow in processing
the results, but there was nothing wrong with the machines," she
said.

Weeks persisted, however, adding that if she were clerk, she
would not find out- after the primary election was over- that there
was a problem with the machines.

Bramhall said, however, that even in the event of recounts,
there has never been any revelation that a problem existed with a
voting machine failing to properly register a vote.

Weeks also alleged that during the primary, voter's party
affiliations did not match what was "on the books."

"People who were registered as Democrats were listed as
Republicans in the polling books, and visa versa," she said.

Bramhall said, in response, however, that such operations are
not under the purview of her office.

Those duties, she said, are undertaken by the Superintendent of
Elections or the county Board of Elections.

"We are three completely separate and autonomous agencies. I do
not have the authority, as county clerk, to infringe on the duties
of the Superintendent of Elections," she said.

"She (RoseAnne Travaglia currently holds the position in Morris
County) is appointed by the governor. We are three separate
agencies. I can not go in and tell her what to do," Bramhall
said.

"The Superintendent of Elections maintains the voter
registration rolls. My role is only to certify the election. A lot
of these duties you are talking about are duties of the
Superintendent of Elections," Bramhall said to Weeks.

"We need a system of checks and balances. I don't maintain the
voter registration rolls," she said.

When Weeks continued to press that the county clerk should at
least have a handle on voting irregularities and problems, Bramhall
said the discussion was ridiculous, and said Weeks was
"aggravating."

"When we get applications for absentee ballots, we check the
signatures to make sure it's accurate, and that they are a
registered voter," she said.

"Other than that, my supervisor of elections is connected to the
Superintendent of Elections, and there is cooperation," she
said.

Weeks said, however, that if a problem became apparent with
voting errors or irregularities, the county clerk has an obligation
to at least correct it.

"This is a fundamental right. Let's at least get it right," she
stressed.

Bramhall said that if she became aware of a problem, she would
report it to the proper agency, but she said she is not charged
with maintaining the more than 795 voting machines in Morris
County.

"What I have done is to modernize the clerk's office to assist
residents, and make the entire process more user-friendly," she
said.

She pointed to electronic filing and wireless network access in
her office, all at no charge to the customer.

She said her computer system and software allows connection to
the tax board, and to county tax maps, as well as wills and death
certificates.

"We have installed, at no cost to the taxpayers, a state of the
art records management system," she said.

"We have made it easier for the public to access records on
line," she said.

Weeks said, however, that she would assemble, as clerk, a
"working group" to look at the entire operation of the clerks'
office.

It would consist, she said, of lawyers, accountants, Realtors
and members of the public.

"Let's see how well it's working. Let's see how user-friendly it
is," she said.

Asked about the effects of the ill economy on her office,
Bramhall said that the improvements and advances were largely
completed already, via the trust fund.

Cuts, however, have been necessitated. "I had $51,000 cut from
my budget, and we are down by nine employees, to 43," she said.

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